Harting Down
South Harting
Children will enjoy a picnic with a view and playing on the large grassy area on this walk.
Wonderful views over South Harting
The Basics
Time: 1 hour 20 mins
Distance: 4.2 km / 2.6 miles
Terrain: Grassy and chalky paths, a short steep descent and ascent.
Pushchair: The circular walk is not suitable for pushchairs, but you could manage a short there and back walk.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome, but should be on leads around grazing cattle.
Refreshments: A picnic at the top or drive to the White Hart Inn in nearby South Harting.
Toilets: There are no public toilets.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location.
Parking: National Trust Car Park, £3 a day using the Pay by Phone app only, NT members free (Postcode: GU31 5PN - W3W: ///grew.convert.cascaded)
The Vandalian Tower
Harting Down is one of the largest areas of ancient down chalkland cared for by The National Trust. The views from the top are incredible and a network of paths makes it easy to explore. It is hard to walk in the area without encountering any hill climbs, but we have carefully designed our route to make it as child friendly as possible, with just one, short ascent.
The Route
1. Leave the car park on the main path heading away from the road with the views directly to your left. Go through the large gate. On the other side, continue straight. You will have vast open views to your left and South Harting village down below with its distinctive church spire. It is worth looking back along this section of the path to get views of the Vandalian Tower.
2. Do not deviate from the main path until you come to a point where there is a scrubby hedge in front of you and you have no option to go left or right (pushchairs turn back here). Take the left hand path, which descends to a little wooden gate. The path surface changes from grassy to a chalky and can be slippery after wet weather. Pass the wooden gate and continue to descend.
3. When the path levels out, you will see a finger post built up around a stone pile with a bench attached. Turn right along the first footpath in that direction. The path will follow the base of a little valley, named Bramshott Bottom. Continue through the valley until you reach a dew pond with a wooden fence around it. Look out for the footpath going up the wooded hill, just after the dew pond.
4. Take this footpath through a dark and atmospheric yew tree wood called Kill Devil Copse. The path will climb through the trees and then you should bear right as it levels out. Soon, the path will fork, and you should chose the right hand one. This will lead you back out of the trees onto the downs again.
5. Turn left at the end of the fence and walk across the downs. There is a very gradual ascent to this grassy path. When the fence to your left reaches a corner, you should round it to your left. Keep going and the car park should start to come into view ahead of you.
You cannot enter the Vandalian Tower as it is on private property, but you can get a closer look if you are particularly curious by following the South Downs Way to the left as you come out of the car park.
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Did you know?
The ruins you see in the distance our those of the Vandalian Tower, a folly built to commemorate the formation of the British colony of Vandalia in The Americas. The colony was short lived, as was the tower, and only the ruins remain on the site which is now part of The Uppark Estate, also managed by The National Trust.
My daughter was interested to know what the hundreds of little mounds were that we encountered, partcicularly on the section through Bramshott Bottom. I wasn’t sure, but some research has told us that they are the mounds of the yellow meadow ant. The dome of soil helps them to regulate the temperature of their colony.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one at Butser Hill, another South Downs walk with amazing views
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